Chelsea tenuously linked with latest promising Fluminense player

Chelsea and Fluminense have had a fairly solid and useful relationship since about 2010, having done business over the transfers of Deco, Belletti (sort of), Wallace, and Kenedy over the years. Next up in this regard could be 20-year-old attacker Richarlison.

According to Sky Italia, Chelsea have taken the lead in the chase for the young Brazilian striker. Several Italian clubs including AC Milan have been keen on the player as well.

These reports were later tempered by further reporting out of Brazil however, where the more likely destination for Richarlison seems to be Ajax, which actually would make much more sense than either Chelsea or AC Milan.

Richarlison arrived at Fluminense in 2016 from América-MG. Following a year struggling to find his form, he had a major turnaround at the beginning of 2017 after being selected to represent the Brazilian U20 national team and becoming one of the key players for that side. He carried his form at the national team into club level, and he has been one of the main attacking outlets for a team heavily reliant on talents from the youth academy, more by circumstance than by choice due to the club's poor financial standing. Due to that, Richarlison and other promising Fluminense players are expected to leave the club this summer.

While Richarlison might not be at the same level of, say, Gustavo Scarpa, who has lead the team since last year despite being only 23 years old, he is still a very good prospect. However he would not come as cheaply as Wallace and Kenedy, with Fluminense hoping to get at least €20 million in return. At this point, Chelsea are much more likely in this story just to drive the price up rather than as an actual serious option.